FLK2 · Criminal Practice

Crown Court procedure & plea

SQE1 revision notes — the key rules, leading cases and common traps for this topic, in plain English and current to 2026.

CRP.06 — Crown Court Procedure & Plea

Getting to the Crown Court

Three routes: (1) indictable-only offences (murder, robbery, s.18 GBH) — sent up under s.51 Crime and Disorder Act 1998, no allocation; (2) either-way offences where the magistrates decline jurisdiction or the defendant elects Crown Court trial; (3) committal for sentence (s.14/s.15 Sentencing Act 2020) where magistrates' powers are insufficient. Sending under s.51 is automatic — there is no longer any "old-style committal."

Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing (PTPH)

The first Crown Court hearing. The arraignment happens here: the indictment is put and D pleads to each count.

Guilty plea → proceed to sentence (often adjourned for a pre-sentence report).
Not guilty plea → the judge gives case-management directions and fixes the trial date; the Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing form is completed.

Reduction in sentence for guilty plea

Governed by the Sentencing Council Guideline (and s.73 Sentencing Act 2020). Maximum one-third reduction for a plea at the first stage (usually the first hearing/PTPH). Reduces to a maximum one-quarter thereafter, sliding to one-tenth on the first day of trial, and further (even nil) during trial. Get the trigger point right: it's first reasonable opportunity, not "before trial."

The indictment & key procedure

The indictment must comply with the Indictment Rules / CrimPR Part 10; counts must be properly joined (founded on the same facts or a series of same/similar character).
Crown Court trial = judge + jury of 12 (verdict can fall to 9). Judge decides law; jury decides fact.
Majority verdicts (Juries Act 1974 s.17): permitted only after at least 2 hours 10 minutes deliberation; minimum 10–2 (or 11–1).

Common traps & distinctions

Election is the defendant's, not magistrates' — only on either-way offences, only after the magistrates accept jurisdiction.
Plea before venue (magistrates' court) precedes allocation; a guilty plea there means no allocation — magistrates convict, then may commit for sentence.
No Newton hearing if the guilty plea is unequivocal and facts agreed; a Newton hearing resolves a material factual dispute on an agreed-guilty basis (judge, no jury).
Don't confuse sending (s.51) with committal for sentence — different statutory routes.
A fitness to plead issue is decided by the judge (Pritchard criteria; Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964), not a jury.

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A woman is the treasurer of a small amateur football club. Members pay £20 each month in cash, which the woman is instructed by the club's rules to bank into the club's dedicated account within seven days. One month she receives £200 in subscriptions but, being short of money, uses the cash to pay her own gas bill. She intends to replace the £200 from her wages before anyone notices, and she does in fact pay an equivalent £200 into the club account two weeks later. The woman is charged with theft of the £200. Which of the following is the strongest basis for finding the property belonged to another at the time she used it?

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